Ball joints and load bearing structures are often damaged by disease, wear and fractures that require repair or replacement of these structures. Several retention mechanisms have been developed that helped to secure load bearing structures and ball and socket joints; however, none of them meet the needs of an aging and increasingly overweight population. Many mechanisms for repair and replacement require unnecessary additional steps during surgery in order to secure and/or retain a prosthesis or to repair a fracture in a bone. FIG. 12 shows a prior art fixation device 54 comprising a capped end 52, a pointed end 56 and a ratchet connector 58 having spades 59 that mate with ridges 40 to adjust the length l between the capped end 52 and the connector 58 using a quick ratchet mechanism locks the spades 59 into the grooves 50 between the ridges 40. There is a long standing unresolved need for efficient and effective methods and devices for use in emergency and elective surgeries to repair and replace damaged bones and joints.
A large fraction of joint replacement surgeries fail due to dislocation of the ball from the socket. Various fixation devices have been designed to retain a ball in the shell of a socket joint, but each of these devices further restricts the range of motion of the ball in the joint. The restricted motion is caused by impingement of one part of a prosthesis against the fixation device or a portion of the shell. Furthermore, any impingement acts as a fulcrum and is capable of causing a large force, through a lever and fulcrum action, that actually causes an increased chance of dislocation. Even worse, the forces can be sufficient to loosen the fixation devices holding the socket in the bone of the patient. Thus, fixation devices that restrict motion are counterproductive and cause dislocations to become even more likely.